Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:22 am
Hi. I had some paving layed 5 years ago this summer. The slabs are 60x60x2 vitrified in a very light beige, with a slight natural finish, but overall the look I was going for was smooth and flat with a wash of continuous white.
I made it clear to the installers that I wanted the mortar to blend with the colour of the slabs and didn’t want to see obvious contrast. They recommended a jointing compound that was labelled ‘buff’ colour. I was very dubious at the time. On the hot sunny day it was applied it looked ok, not exactly matching, but it didn’t bother me too much. But then the rain came and it went dark brown and stayed that way until it dried out, which in summer takes about 3 days of no rain and in spring / autumn/ winter never happens.
Over the years it has also gathered dirt and moss and a lot of it has just worn away. It just looks rubbish. A fair few of the slabs have also come loose. I remember explaining to them that the slab supplier said they needed to add something to the cement to help the vitrified slabs stick, but they said it wasn’t necessary.
Anyway, this spring I plan to ‘re-stick’ the wobbly slabs and re-do the grouting. So I have two questions. What should I use to add to the cement, and is there a mortar or jointing compound that actually stays white or very light even when wet?
Not sure if you allow quotes here; feel free to PM me if it’s allowed, although I might just do it myself. The area is about 25m squared I think and i’m In North London.
Many Thanks
I made it clear to the installers that I wanted the mortar to blend with the colour of the slabs and didn’t want to see obvious contrast. They recommended a jointing compound that was labelled ‘buff’ colour. I was very dubious at the time. On the hot sunny day it was applied it looked ok, not exactly matching, but it didn’t bother me too much. But then the rain came and it went dark brown and stayed that way until it dried out, which in summer takes about 3 days of no rain and in spring / autumn/ winter never happens.
Over the years it has also gathered dirt and moss and a lot of it has just worn away. It just looks rubbish. A fair few of the slabs have also come loose. I remember explaining to them that the slab supplier said they needed to add something to the cement to help the vitrified slabs stick, but they said it wasn’t necessary.
Anyway, this spring I plan to ‘re-stick’ the wobbly slabs and re-do the grouting. So I have two questions. What should I use to add to the cement, and is there a mortar or jointing compound that actually stays white or very light even when wet?
Not sure if you allow quotes here; feel free to PM me if it’s allowed, although I might just do it myself. The area is about 25m squared I think and i’m In North London.
Many Thanks